Back in April of this year, the WWE began a business and cultural partnership with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, announcing a 10-year deal with the Saudi Sports Authority, with the aim of helping to develop the nation culturally over that period of ten years. That's all fine and dandy you may think, but while the nation itself is indeed incredibly wealthy, they remain just a LITTLE BIT behind socially, and by that I mean their strict laws and views on women doing, well, practically anything. When WWE put on it's GREATEST ROYAL RUMBLE PPV in April, as historical as the event was, it was marred by the fact that NONE of it's female Superstars were allowed to compete under Arabian law, and in this day and age, for a company so supposedly invested in pushing and celebrating it's women's division, it was seen as more than a little hypocritical. The fact that the WWE are getting around $45million for the show is all well and good, but it does seemingly put money before morals. As part of this continued deal, WWE scheduled a return to Saudi Arabia on November 2nd with their new World Cup tournament to determine "The Best In The World" (Something you will eventually get sick of hearing) at the new PPV CROWN JEWEL...but it faced severe backlash amidst some unavoidable controversy.

On October 2nd, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi (Himself a controversial figure in the eyes of Saudi's hierarchy) entered a Turkish consulate in Istanbul to obtain divorce papers, so he could re-marry with his new Turkish partner...he never returned. After weeks of speculation and uncertainty, it had emerged that Khashoggi had been killed and the reports were diverse, but what is now seemingly very apparent, though without definitive proof, is that he had been murdered at the hands of Saudi authorities, with some reporting that it was incredibly gruesome and barbaric, going as far as involving dismemberment. The eyes of the world were now on Saudi Arabia for all the wrong reasons as answers were demanded, as many Western organisations and industries cut ties with the nation...this brings us to WWE. Being a publicly traded company on the stock market, they have an image to uphold and a business model to run, so it's fair to say that they were under pressure to pull out of their heavily advertised second Saudi show in the midst of all the controversy. Hahahahaha, is what I say, as we all know VINCE MCMAHON is ALL about them Benjamin Franklin's and despite everything that had gone on, Vince decided that Crown Jewel would go ahead as planned. It didn't go 100% smoothly however, as two of WWE's biggest stars (JOHN CENA and DANIEL BRYAN) pulled out of the event, and they had to awkwardly change plans with short notice...BUT...the show must go on, and this, is what went down at WWE Crown Jewel.

(Pre-Show) SHINSUKE NAKAMURA def. RUSEV: U.S Title Match

As is tradition with virtually every WWE event these days, there's a pre-show broadcast with a warm up match and commentary segments, running through the match card with predictions etc. etc., and the match here is nothing short of a damn shame. Two of the hottest in-ring talents WWE has to offer right now; SHINSUKE NAKAMURA and RUSEV have been CRIMINALLY underused for the most part of this year, Rusev actually arguably longer. Starting with Shinsuke, one of the most naturally gifted and charismatic stars they have on their roster; former NXT Champion and 2018 ROYAL RUMBLE winner, he's current defending United States Champion...but he's done NOTHING since winning the title. He's had practically zero presence on SMACKDOWN LIVE since, bar a handful of nothing matches, with many questioning why he's being so underused. Rusev on the other hand hasn't had any note worthy victories or held any Championships, but his "Rusev Day" gimmick with former ally AIDEN ENGLISH was SO organically over! The crowd loved him! What to WWE do with that? Do they capitalise on it? No...they ignore it completely and let something as naturally hot as his gimmick to run completely out of steam. The fact that these two are resigned to the pre-show is actually pretty insulting to them both. The match itself was nothing special, Shinsuke has all of his unique in-ring offense but at one point it looked like a shock victory for Rusev was on the cards as he locked in the Accolade. Shinsuke looked like he was on the verge of tapping-out but he manged to escape, but what followed was a subtle continuation of Shinsuke's heelish character, as he "accidentally" low-blowed Rusev with a headbutt, deceiving the referee in the process, in which he took advatntage off and finished the match off with a Kinshasa for the 3-count. If this leads to a TV feud between the two, that's OK I guess, but still, what a damn shame this is here. [1/5]

(Main Show Opening) REY MYSTERIO def. RANDY ORTON

Coming back to the idea of controversy, yes, there's still room for more believe it or not, despite all of the serious issues surrounding Khashoggi, despite the fact the women's division is still prohibited from competing at these events (Although the only silver lining here is RENEE YOUNG, an actual real woman, has been allowed on commentary, progress is beautiful isn't it?) the WWE still manage to make things ridiculous by having fucking HULK HOGAN open the show! Having only recently been allowed back into the WWE following racial slurs he made on a leaked sex tape (Let that sink in for a second), Hogan, regardless of his legendary status, is now an incredibly divisive figure. The crowd do pop massively mind you when his music hits and everything goes red and yellow for his entrance...he delivers a typical Hulk Hogan promo to officially start Crown Jewel (Note that he never once utters the words Saudi Arabia), does a bit of classic Hogan crowd-work, posing with his admittedly still-impressive pythons and leaves. Literally, you won't see him again now, that's it. The opening match then officially kicks off the World Cup tournament, to determine the best in the world, and we see REY MYSTERIO facing off against RANDY ORTON. Here, ring announcer Greg Hamilton starts what will soon become the incredibly annoying task of listing off every competitors accomplishments, really it gets tiresome, before Rey has a video package stating that this tournament was one of the main reasons he returned to WWE...sure it was Rey, sure it was. The match itself was a pretty standard affair, pitting strength against speed, with a few notable highlights including a perfectly timed standing drop-kick from Orton, incredibly executed. He paced the match well, taking advantage of the heat he was generating as the heel, lapping up the crowd booing. At one point cleverly reversing Rey's 619 into hit patented middle rope DDT, he looked in total control, but it was Rey who'd take the victory with a surprise roll-up pin to advance to the next round. A pretty straightforward match, with most of the story coming from the beat-down Orton gave Rey after losing, which would play into the night. [2/5]

THE MIZ def. JEFF HARDY

Second match and we have the 2nd SmackDown Live quarter final, pitting THE MIZ against JEFF HARDY. Jeff's video promo refers to him vanquishing his demons, which many people will associate his history of drug problems (TNA Victory Road Anyone?) while The Miz is in his usual heelish persona. Initially we find Miz going for a quick win with an early Skull-Crushing Finale attempt, and he has a lot of the match, parodying the trademark Daniel Bryan running corner dropkicks, but Jeff does have his hope spots. He hits a diving clothesline off of the crowd barrier and delivers a trademark Whisper In The Wind, although he connects poorly, even reversing Miz' Figure-4 into a roll-up, but after avoiding a Swanton, The Miz manages to drive Jeff face first into a turnbuckle leading into a pin. He WOULD have had the three count here had it not been for the referee noticing Miz used the bottom rope for leverage, so broke up the pin. Miz being the classic heel thought he'd won but the referee continued the match, everyone thought Jeff would take advantage here and he fully intended to, going straight for the Twist Of Fate, but Miz reversed it into a Skull-Crushing Finale and to everyone's surprise picked up a clean pin for the victory. A decent TV match, but nothing more sadly and this set up the tone for the night as a whole. [2/5]

SETH ROLLINS def. BOBBY LASHLEY

Next up we had the first of the RAW quarter finals and we find Intercontinental Champion, and one half of the Raw Tag Team Champions SETH ROLLINS square off against a late addition to the tournament, BOBBY LASHLEY. Initially the spot was intended for JOHN CENA, however as he pulled out of the show, Bobby was inserted in his place by acting Raw General Manager BARON CORBIN(Which was a questionable choice on a number of levels). Seth entered the arena to a massive crowd pop as everyone screamed "Burn It Down", while Bobby himself even had a mention for being former ECW Champion which was unusual, as that tends to be buried these days. Bobby had some impressive offence here including a brutal looking improvised Choke Slam to prevent a Seth Suicide Dive, and his trademark delayed vertical Suplex which Seth managed to reverse, but Seth's agility and determination shone through in the end and despite selling his neck injuries, he managed to hit Bobby with a Curb Stomp for a surprisingly quick win. A lot of this match was overshadowed by the commentary team focusing on Seth's ongoing issues with tag partner DEAN AMBROSE after he turned his back on Seth, moments after winning the tag titles on RAW. COREY GRAVES slips up too by getting his days mixed up, momentarily thinking this PPV was on a Sunday night as opposed to the Friday, stating RAW being live the following night, which is rare from him. Despite that small chuckle it was another average at best match up. [2/5]

DOPLH ZIGGLER def. KURT ANGLE

This match was questionable before we even begin. KURT ANGLE is one of the greatest to ever be part of the WWE and he is forever a fan favourite, but of late, he's sadly become a little bit of a joke thanks to how WWE have used/handled him. Despite all of this it's still nice to see him and even the Arabian crowd are getting into the spirit of the occasion chanting "You Suck" along with his entrance theme, as is tradition now. The match itself starts of diversifying slightly as we're telling the story of their college wrestling backgrounds and a lot of the opening section of this bout is toe-to-toe mat wrestling. Kurt does his best Brock impression by hitting DOLPH ZIGGLER with a series of German Suplex's, even attempting to hit one to the outside off the apron, however Dolph manages to whip him into to steel ring steps to turn the tables. There are some decent near-falls and Dolph does his usual dramatic selling, even managing to kick out of an Angle Slam and surviving a grueling Ankle Lock after Kurt takes his straps down to get serious. The Arab's must have loved him shouting "Son of a bitch!" haha! Eventually though Kurt slips up, running into the ring post allowing Dolph to deliver a Zig-Zag to pick up a clean win over the genuine Olympic Gold Medalist. Kurt is out already and it further proves that WWE are wasting Kurt's appearances as let's face it, he doesn't have too many left. If this had been to a new, up-and-coming prospect star then sure, give him the rub, but this is Dolph and it's just another shame quite frankly. [3/5]

SmackDown Tag Team Championship: THE BAR def. THE NEW DAY

With the quarter final's now out of the way and the tournament brackets now giving people more of an idea of how the World Cup to determine the best in the world might pan out, it's time to put some more gold up for grabs as it's time for the SmackDown Live Tag Team Championship match. THE NEW DAY enter first and BIG E does his usual introduction, again, there's no mention of Saudi Arabia however, which is fine, given the circumstances...but what is questionable, is New Day's entrance. Far be it from me to assume Vince is OK with the idea of racial or cultural stereotyping, but New Day make their way to the ring on a fucking MAGIC CARPET! OK, OK, it's not real, it's a pimped up cherry-picker, but still! I digress, their opponents THE BAR, aka SHEAMUS and CESARO make their way to the ring with THE BIG SHOW now in tow, and here you realise that their entrance music now just sounds like that annoying friend who keeps skipping songs on Spotify. Seriously, someone needs to make them a proper theme now instead of mashing THREE pieces together, it's honestly a mess. The match itself was fine; Big E was looking for payback very early on with some ruthless offence, seeing as it was him that took the pin allowing The Bar to win the Championship last time they squared off, and KOFI KINGSTON was impressive with his aerial offence as per usual, but The Bar worked great heel tag tactics, cutting the ring in half and not allowing New Day to get any momentum. There was some decent double teaming going on including an impressive projected Suplex effort by The Bar, and New Day did get their hope spots with a flurry of Belly-To-Belly's from Big E, but it would ultimately come down to a distraction finish. The referee, while trying to avoid a collision missed Big Show getting involved hitting Big E with a KO Punch, allowing Sheamus to plant a Brogue Kick. He went for the pin, got the 3-count and The Bar retained their titles. Again, a fine tag-match that'll probably continue on through SmackDown over the next week or two until they find Big Show something to actually do. [3/5]

THE MIZ def. REY MYSTERIO

It's semi-final time and to kick this round of the tournament off we have The Miz taking on Rey Mysterio to book SmackDown's place in the final. With probably the best piece of continuation regarding the tournament story, Rey was again billed as the underdog following his beat down at the hands of Randy Orton earlier in the night, but he made the point of saying there were no excuses, he's here to prove he's the best in the world and will fight through any injuries and obstacles...The Miz was selling his own injury, although it was more of a sore throat than anything, but Corey Graves put this over well on commentary with his heelish attitude. The match started with some decent chain wrestling and again had one or two highlights, including the Arab audience getting quite invested and excited in a generic Top Turnbuckle 10-punch, but in the end this fell into becoming just another standard TV type affair, with no major plot points. Rey connects a 619 but when going for the splash to finish off the match, Miz catches him on the way down with his knees up, before rolling him up for another surprisingly clean win. I guess with MARYSE not being allowed there he isn't in full heel Miz mode? Who knows...regardless, Miz reaches the final, and that's now both Kurt Angle AND Rey Mysterio wasted, in what's fast becoming a glorified house show. [2/5]

DOLPH ZIGGLER def. SETH ROLLINS

As I was saying? The RAW semi-final initially has some momentum with Seth getting another great crowd reaction, could we be seeing Saudi Freakin' Rollins shirts on sale after tonight? The match gets going with both Seth and Dolph testing the waters and sussing each other out, and it does become a pretty enjoyable match. Dolph goes to work on Seth's neck injury with the neck-breaker and hard hitting Spike DDT, often mocking and taunting him while he's down, but Seth is always resilient; kicking out the Fame-Asser, even when after hitting the Superplex into the Falcon Arrow, Dolph managed to reverse with the Zig-Zag but still Seth kicks out. It's here though that DREW MCINTYRE makes his towering presence felt in Dolph's corner...after a Seth Suicide Dive, the two end up having a face to face, with Seth goading him to interfere to get Dolph disqualified, which was a good tactic to some degree. Drew backs away however, initially that is...setting up the matches climax, Seth hits Drew out of nowhere with another suicide dive while Dolph is down, but when he climbs the top turnbuckle to get back on the offensive with Dolph, Drew jumps back up and throws Seth off the top rope. Dolph seeing this capitalises with a Superkick and pins Seth for the win. With the interference Seth doesn't really lose any credibility, neither has he lost his Intercontinental Championship as that's not been up for grabs, so he's fine coming out of this regardless of the result...but we now face a tournament final with Dolph Ziggler and The Miz and really that, just...well who cares now is what I'm trying to say. [3/5]

WWE Championship: AJ STYLES def. SAMOA JOE

This was another incredibly makeshift match at short notice...initially we were MEANT to be witnessing a dream match between defending WWE Champion AJ STYLES and the returning super babyface DANIEL BRYAN...HOWEVER, given all that's gone on with the whole Saudi situation, Bryan pulled out of tonight's show like John Cena and they had to change the largely advertised title match. Literally days before, the match was squandered on an episode of SmackDown Live, where Bryan ended up losing clean in the ring, tapping out to Styles Calf Crusher...this led to the sudden appearance of SAMOA JOE who attacked AJ after the match, holding up the WWE Championship, declaring their rivalry was far from over. In a seemingly rushed back stage segment, AJ demanded to SmackDown General manger PAIGE that he wanted Joe at Crown Jewel in a title match...and just like that, dream match wasted, ongoing feud continued and we see these two go at it yet again...seriously it's now just TNA again but with a bigger budget and better production. Not to take away from these two however, they have great in-ring chemistry and the crowd are hot for AJ, wherever you go people do seem to love AJ, probably the only person that can make Arabian's sing along to Christian rap, he's that good. The match was a typical encounter between the two, lots of striking from both men, with some tasty looking spots including a ridiculously hard clothesline that nearly turned AJ inside out, plus a dive to the outside that sent AJ crashing into the announce table, which looked quite rough on his rib cage to be truthful. AJ worked on Joe's legs though taking away the big mans surprising agility, eventually wearing him down with the Calf-Crusher, but Joe doesn't give up too easily, taking an additional Phenomenal Forearm before he eventually succumbed to a 3-count. AJ get's the win and remains champion, as he now looks to get himself in the record books, by overtaking DIESEL to enter the Top 10 longest title reigns in WWE history. Not bad for a TNA guy...not bad at all. [3/5]

Universal Championship Match: BROCK LESNER def. BRAUN STROWMAN

Where oh where do I even begin with this one? On a scale of one to ten of how wrong things can go for WWE in terms of story lines...this is a sure fire ten. Not even TYE DILLINGER would be OK with this ten. This was SUPPOSED to be a Triple Threat match between ROMAN REIGNS, BRAUN STROWMAN and a returning BROCK LESNER which no one really saw coming after he FINALLY dropped the belt initially. We all thought (And hoped) he was buggering off back to the UFC...but nope, he returned at HELL IN A CELL to interrupt the match between Roman and Braun, reinserting himself into the title picture, wanting his favourite red strap back. The trouble is, the WWE was shaken recently with the terrible announcement that Roman had to vacate the title, after a frustrating two year push, because he's once again battling Leukemia. Seriously you couldn't write this shit now, that's how this feels...I mean I wish Roman all the best and hope he can fight this off but we're left with this utter farce. RAW general manager Baron Corbin comes down to the ring to represent the brand as he will declare the winner of this match new Universal Champion, seeing as the title was vacated. Brock gets a crowd pop, as does Braun, who if you remember won the Greatest Royal Rumble last time WWE were over here in the place that shall not be named, but what we're about to witness, is nothing more than utterly farcical. After PAUL HEYMAN does his usual, tired and repeated bollocks of introducing Brock, Baron shows both men the title up for grabs, standard affair...BUT, he then hits Braun over the back of the head with the belt, allowing Brock to take advantage and drop Braun for an F5. To Brock's dismay Braun kicks out of the pin, so he drops him with another F5...the same thing happens. Brock delivers a THIRD F5, the same thing happens...Brock is getting visibly angry now so he goes for a 4th F5 but instead tosses Braun over the top rope to the floor. Braun get's back in! He then finally manages to get his ONLY offence of the match in, hitting Brock with one measly boot in the corner, before Brock drops him with a fifth F5 to finally claim victory and once again, become Universal Champion. I have three words for this; WHAT. THE. FUCK. A nonsense match this was...I don't care how many F5's Braun kicked out of this made him look ridiculous, I mean this was essentially a squash match, WWE just shit all over their build of Braun. It was also a middle finger to fans who complained about Brock being champion; he's hardly ever there, his matches are beyond boring and we all HOPED that he really had fucked off to the UFC, ideally staying there, but nope, he's back, and once again has the title...what an utter farce this match was. [1/5]

Tournament Final: SHANE MCMAHON def. DOLPH ZIGGLER...???

JUST when you thought that the levels of insanity and questionable booking couldn't get any worse, oh boy, were we not expecting THIS. As it was the SmackDown vs Raw World Cup tournament final, with Baron Corbin already being ringside, SHANE MCMAHON heads to the ring to show his face and represent the blue brand, rooting for The Miz...and things initially seem professional. The referee sends Drew McIntyre out of Dolph's corner, back to the locker room to make the fight fair, giving the bout an element of respect and seriousness, but while that's going on, The Miz wants to get things underway early, attacking Dolph before the bell has rung. This leads to both men finding themselves outside the ring but upon leaving, The Miz seemingly rolls over his ankle and falls to the floor, selling an injury...with Miz being unable to officially start the match, the referee is about to call it off and award Dolph the victory by means of forfeit...cue Shane McMahon...unhappy with that outcome, he valiantly enters the match in place of The Miz to represent SmackDown, as he's not prepared to see the match go down like that. Corbin is furious but through complaining get's sent back by the referee himself, leading to cries of bias from the commentary team, as we lead into what has now become another complete farce. Shane swiftly goes to work on Dolph with a series of strikes and a DDT, before eventually sending him into the turnbuckles with a slingshot, and hitting his trademark Coast To Coast for the 3-count. Let this just sink in for a moment...Shane McMahon, just won a tournament, he wasn't even entered in...Shane McMahon, in around 3 minutes, has just been crowned THE BEST IN THE WORLD by winning WWE's Crown Jewel world cup...that literally just happened. Shane McMahon is now officially, the best in the world. He certainly now thinks so anyway, as he goes bonkers celebrating and parading the trophy around...and even the announce team don't know what to make of it. The best comment comes from Graves stating that possession is nine tenths of the law and we can't take this result away from Shane...but seriously guys come on...what's going on did they have fucking VINCE RUSSO write this? Surely the main event can salvage something...[1/5]

DX def. THE BROTHERS OF DESTRUCTION

Bare in mind that we're in the latter half of 2018, and the main event on tonight's PPV is a tag team match between DX(TRIPLE H and SHAWN MICHAELS) and THE BROTHERS OF DESTRUCTION(THE UNDERTAKER and KANE)...but apparently this is the first time that this has ever happened...what makes it more insane is that it's Shawn's first official match since he retired eight years ago...and please bare in mind that the combined age of these four men is now over 200. Now that you've wrapped your head around that, the match itself was no more than two things; a nice piece of nostalgia for long time fans, and a seriously sad state of affairs with the men obviously way past their prime. DX and Undertaker got massive crowd pop's when entering the arena and before the match was even underway for long there were chants of "This Is Awesome", and it was a slow start let me tell you. Things were being paced nicely though I have to admit and the inevitable confrontation between Shawn and Taker' did give you goosebumps...but things went tits up quite early on as, during a spot where Triple H went over the ropes to the floor, he sustained a real injury to what seems like either his right bicep or shoulder, or his pectoral muscle. Being the professional he is however, and fighting through what must be absolute agony, he continued the match despite not being able to use his right arm for three quarters of it. Everything after that descended into chaos and was either sloppy and sluggish, or cringe worthy. Shawn tried to carry as much of the match as he could, with a trademark kip-up and top rope elbow drop to chants of "You Still Go It", even a moonsault to the outside to take out Kane and Undertaker, the trouble is he also landed badly and took out his own face in the process and may very realistically have a concussion. There were botches on the outside where Triple H can audibly be heard calling spots, there was a confusing double Irish whip into the barrier which just looked really awkward, Kane Chookeslams Triple H through what seems to be the wrong announce table as all the monitors are still set up...oh and Kane's mask falls off too which has virtually never happened unintentionally...seriously this very quickly became a car crash. After what feels like forever then, and a near submission via a Hells Gate on Triple H, Taker' and Kane set up for a double Tombstone spot, but Shawn gives Kane a thumb to the eye, drops both men with Sweet Chin Music allowing Triple H to hit one seriously weak-ass Pedigree on Kane because of his injury. He pins the big red machine and claims another victory following the match with Taker' at SUPER SHOW-DOWN in Australia...but what a disappointment this match turned out to be on numerous levels. Sure the injury couldn't be helped, but watching this, it was just genuinely sad, and does little to warrant any interest in any of these competing again in future, which speaks volumes given the men in question...I really think it's time they all Rest In Peace from an in-ring standpoint. [1/5]

Essentially, looking at this from a purely WWE perspective, the event was no more than a big-budget house show, and hopefully none of this will carry on with much significance in regards to RAW and SmackDown...from a different perspective, given all the controversy surrounding the event, the WWE has a lot to mull over before there are any suggestions of going back to Saudi Arabia in 2019, and there are serious questions to be asked over this apparent ten year deal. With Crown Jewel now done and dusted, we can now look forward to a proper show by the name of SURVIVOR SERIES in a couple of weeks time, where the women will return to the ring and we'll hopefully have some proper story lines heading into whatever matches end up on the card. Until then, to answer Hulk Hogan's initial question...what am I gonna do when Crown Jewel runs wild on ME? I'm going to shake my head in disbelief it turns out...SHANE MCMAHON IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD!?!?!?!?!?!?!

The WWE is without a shadow of a doubt, the biggest professional wrestling organisation in the world today...I mean OK they regard themselves as a sports entertainment company (VINCE MCMAHON doesn't like the term wrestling) but that's all just semantics really. Over the past few years they've claimed (By they I mean STEPHANIE MCMAHON) to try to push women's wrestling further into the spotlight; push for that talent equality that so many of their roster genuinely deserves, and in all fairness they have come on in leaps and bounds. Gone are the days of JERRY "THE KING" LAWLER talking about puppies and acting like the pervy uncle everyone dreads at family gatherings...gone are the days of the bra & panties matches, the mud wrestling, the strip-contests and more importantly, the idea of the women being regarded as Divas and eye-candy...what we have now are a group of women breaking down walls and barriers and really achieving not only for WWE, but for women in wrestling in general.

In the past short couple of years alone we've had the first ever women's MONEY IN THE BANK ladder matches, the first ever women's HELL IN A CELL match, an all-women traditional 5-On-5 SURVIVOR SERIES match and even the first ever 30-Woman ROYAL RUMBLE...incredibly ground-breaking stuff and stuff they should all be so very proud of given where the division was not too long ago! This naturally has led us to here; EVOLUTION...the first EVER all-women's WWE Pay-Per-View, a historical moment in WWE and an astounding accomplishment given all of the aforementioned...BUT...there's a catch; the whole debacle that is Saudi Arabia. As you're probably aware WWE have already hosted an event in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, putting on the GREATEST ROYAL RUMBLE...but it's been viewed by fans and women's rights advocates as more than a touch hypocritical, even going as far as shameful. You see, women aren't allowed to do practically anything in Saudi Arabia, it's 2018 and only recently they were finally ALLOWED to drive...so to perform in a wrestling ring wearing not much compared to Arabian standards? NO CHANCE IN HELL! Despite this, WWE went ahead with the event and left the women's division behind, literally, and it didn't go down all too well. Doing this once is bad enough, but to go ahead and go BACK to do the up-coming CROWN JEWEL? That's beyond hypocritical and highly questionable. Evolution has now merely been seen by many as a PR stunt to paper over the cracks that is clearly WWE caring more about the big money deal they're getting from Saudi Arabia, as opposed to REALLY caring about pushing the women's division like they intended. The question now being, DO they really mean it, or are they doing it all for public image, as opposed to doing it because they damn well should? Only the quality of this PPV may tell...

​

TRISH STRATUS & LITA def. MICKIE JAMES & ALISHA FOX

The WWE in all fairness put some effort into the initial set-up of the PPV's opening ceremony, with HALESTORM's own LZZY HALE and ALICE COOPER guitarist NITA STRAUSS performing like they had done for WRESTLEMANIA. Their song "Evolution" was played while the new modified entrance screen showcased a montage of all the female talent that made this PPV possible, and it was all delivered with conviction...a bit too much fret-wankery from Strauss for me personally but it was an intense start leading us to the opening match, and what a way to kick things off this was! TRISH STRATUS and LITA are two of THE most iconic women in WWE history and are forever incredibly loved by fans, and tonight they've teamed up against MICKIE JAMES and ALICIA FOX in place of an injured ALEXA BLISS. The two Hall Of Fame legends got a huge pop from the crowd as they made their way to the ring and this allowed Mickie & Fox (Who had Bliss with them at ringside) to react so well in their heel persona's. Lita and Trish lapped up crowd chants of "You've Still Got It" by an already boisterous crowd and got it they indeed still have! Lita with her classic Moonsault, Trish with a sequence of headlock take-downs and an incredibly nostalgic face-off with long time rival Mickie James made for some great fan-service. Mickie and Fox tried abandoning the match at one point but the legends were having none of it, throwing them back in and doing well as a team, even including some unique double-team offence highlighting their in-ring chemistry. It WAS a standard tag-team affair as far as set-up and delivery goes, and it did have a slight timing-botch regarding a clear 3-count pin-fall courtesy of a late Fox breakup, but with Trish securing the win after some "Stratusfaction" and a swift "Chick Kick" she ensured the crowd were cheering very early on and this set an impressive tone for the whole night ahead. [3/5]

Evolution 20-Woman Battle Royal (Winner: Nia Jax)

As if already seeing two bona fide Hall Of Fame superstars wasn't enough, then the Battle Royal was probably about to blow your mind, with a sheer plethora of stars, past and present sharing the same ring for what was a surprisingly enjoyable match. NAOMI is the first to enter as she fills the Nassau Veteran's Memorial Coliseum with her trademark glow, but the names that follow are astounding. Joining modern day superstars such as LANA and ZELINA VEGA were the likes of MARIA KANELLIS who despite only literally a few short months ago had a baby, is in impressive ring-shape...THE UNDERTAKER's real-life wife MICHELLE MCCOOL made an appearance to huge applause but probably the most impressive was the in-ring return of 54 year old ALUNDRA BLAYZE, who hadn't stepped foot in a WWE ring since 1995! The match started off with THE IICONICSBILLIE KAY and PEYTON ROYCE doing their traditional berating of the their opponents while they came down as the final entrants, but the old-guard were having none of it, swiftly eliminating them merely seconds after the bell rang. This in turn led to an even more iconic face off, as the legends turned to face the young blood, descending into an old-vs-new brawl. The legends didn't get too much chance to shine however as MANDY ROSE and SONYA DEVILLE start picking them off one-by-one, but that tactic doesn't last very long as Mandy shocks everyone by eliminating her team mate Sonya, playing into the every woman for herself stipulation. CARMELLA has a brief dance-break with IVORY or all people which entertained the crowd, but the main aspects of this match were built around NIA JAX, TAMINA, ASUKA and EMBER MOON...Nia and Tamina paid a fitting tribute to ROMAN REIGNS who has only recently (And shockingly) been sidelined with Leukemia, using their impressive size and strength to go on a rampage. Ember Moon FINALLY got her receipt for Asuka after a brilliant face-off by eliminating her old nemesis, following what was a bitter rivalry in NXT, though it could have been played out more, hopefully this can be revisited somewhere down the line. She also rather shoddily eliminated Tamina, but she didn't have enough left in the tank to overcome Nia who threw her over the top to become last woman standing, earning herself a shot at the RAW women's championship. Overall the match had it's entertaining moments, (Including a RIDICULOUS 8-woman Suplex) but a lot of it did feel rushed, with several of the veterans spending very little time in the ring and purely making up numbers. [2/5]

MAE YOUNG CLASSIC 2018 FINAL: TONI STORM def. IO SHIRAI

For those of you that follow WWE Network programming you'll likely be familiar with the successful MAE YOUNG CLASSIC Women's tournament, pitting off incredibly talented women from around the world in a traditional tournament, a bit like the old KING OF THE RING set-up, with the aim of finding the next big WWE female superstar. Last year KAIRI SANE emerged victorious after defeating SHAYNA BASZLER in the 2017 final (That'll come into play later tonight) but now it's all about New Zealand's TONI STORM(Who reached last years Semi-Finals) and Japan's IO SHIRAI, both of whom have been lighting up the tournament with some seriously impressive matches. With plenty of strong-style striking from Io and some incredible aerial displays including a stunning Moonsault off the top turnbuckle to the outside of the ring, even connecting REY MYSTERIO's very own "619" at one point, it seemed Io would follow in Kairi Sane's footsteps, but Toni was having none of it and put up a brilliant fight of her own, even delivering a brutal looking German Suplex onto the hard ring apron, before eventually knee-blocking a potential match winning second Moonsault, and delivering a second "Storm Zero" of her own to claim the 3-count and pick up the win. After coming so close last year, the emotion and relief was so plain to see on Toni's face following this victory, crying tears of joy having finally had her moment, made all the more touching by TRIPLE H and Stephanie McMahon being on hand to present her with her trophy. It was a genuinely nice moment for a well-deserving hard working young superstar in the making and she has the charisma to achieve great things in WWE. Commiserations for Io...though I highly doubt we've seen the last of her. [4/5]

NATALYA, BAYLEY & SASHA BANKS def. THE RIOTT SQUAD

Truth be told this was probably the least anticipated match on tonight's whole card, and that's saying something for an event that includes a Battle Royal! It's not that the 6 women in question are incapable of delivering a match it's just that, of everything going on tonight, this just feels like a generic RAW tag-team affair you'd find on any given Monday night. The main narratives running through the match were mostly centered around the seemingly eternal story line regarding BAYLEY and SASHA BANKS friendship issues, and a lot of tribute spots for the three babyfaces. There was some early teamwork between NATALYA and Sasha delivering a "Hart Attack" on LIV MORGAN, in memory of her late father JIM "THE ANVIL" NEIDHART...before RUBY RIOTT and co (Dressed as horror icons for Halloween) did some traditional heel work, cutting the ring in half, making quick tags and picking their opponents apart one by one. This was to be another moment of celebration however as after Bayley puts her body on the line to protect Sasha from a top-rope splash, we saw Natalya lock-in an impressive DOUBLE "Sharpshooter" on both Riott and SARAH LOGAN, before Bayley paid homage to the late MACHO MAN RANDY SAVAGE with his trademark Top-Rope Elbow Drop, and Sasha finished off using the late EDDIE GUERERO's famous "Frog Splash" to secure the win. It was a typical affair with a lot of the spots set up for nostalgia pops from the crowd, and while a solid tag-match, it didn't directly benefit the PPV with any real importance. [2/5]

NXT WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP: SHAYNA BASZLER def. KAIRI SANE

This...was awesome...how do you pick a crowd up after a generic tag-match? You give them not only the first time ever for an NXT Title being defended on a main-roster WWE PPV...but you give them one of the most heated rivalries contained within it to boot! KAIRI SANE and SHAYNA BASZLER have history; Sane defeated Baszler at the 2017 Mae Young Classic final, but while it was Baszler who first got her hands on the NXT Women's Championship, who would be the one to take if off her? You guessed it, Sane, back at the SUMMERSLAM TAKEOVER show in August. This made it personal for Baszler who has since become even more malicious and callous in the way she conducts her matches...who even knew that was possible? The former MMA star and certified submission magician was relishing this match against the Pirate Princess and wasted no time applying a beat down and her uniquely brutal limb-breaking offense on Sane. Sane is a plucky young fighter however and has a Championship to defend and more that stood her ground, applying stiff strikes of her own with her never give up attitude. Following a scuffle on the outside of the ring though, Sane managed to back-drop Baszler into the crowd, disrupting Baszler's MMA accomplices MARINA SHAFIR and JESSAMYN DUKE...the two didn't take long to get involved and after some sly interference unnoticed by the referee, Duke managed to stun Sane with a kick to the side of the head, allowing Baszler to lock in her lethal Kirifuda Clutch, eventually passing out Sane and rendering her unconscious. Unable to continue, the referee called for the bell and declared Baszler the winner by technical submission, and as a result not only the new NXT Women's Champion, but the first ever 2-time NXT Women's Champion. This, added to the fact she's already a dangerous competitor, and also the entourage of her MMA cohorts, NXT's women's division is officially on notice. They could dominate the division for the foreseeable future and completely change the landscape of the women's division as we know it...things just got exciting. [4/5]

SMACKDOWN WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP: BECKY LYNCH def. CHARLOTTE FLAIR

If you want to look at feuds in WWE's women's division...Shayna Baszler and Kairi Sane is one thing...but BECKY LYNCH and CHARLOTTE FLAIR not only have one of the most heated rivalries across ALL brands right now, with the most organic in-ring chemistry, but such incredible investment from the fans; they just damn near blew the roof off! With even more history to be made, the Irish Lass-Kicker Becky Lynch was set to defend her SMACKDOWN Women's Championship against The self proclaimed Queen, Charlotte Flair, in WWE's first ever Last Woman Standing match. Their confrontations and scraps had become so fierce that no mere pin-fall victory was going to settle this score...they were looking to break each other and were willing to do so by any means necessary for that Championship Becky has so grown to love. In a blistering bout that saw the two women bring out Kendo Sticks, steel chairs, tables and even a ladder, they beat the living shit out of each other trying floor one another for a 10-count. You'd never have guessed that they were former best friends, this is beyond just some belt at this point! There were numerous agonizing moments including Flair locking her patented "Figure-8" onto Becky through the rungs of the ladder, providing everyone with a visual tap-out! Becky WOULD have lost the match if this had been a different stipulation! Flair even drove Becky through a table via a modified Swanton Bomb off the top turnbuckle...but Becky can give as good as she gets, hitting Flair with a thunderous body slam onto the ladder, jarring her lower back, as well as driving Flair through an announce table with a diving leg drop off of another ladder! There was a moment where Becky seemingly had enough however and tried to leave with her title, but this match wasn't going to end without a winner, Flair dragged her back to the ring, where after what can only be described a sequence of pure carnage, Becky managed to counter a trademark Flair Moonsault and power bombed her through a table onto the floor outside. Flair was vocally in pain but tried her best to get to her feet, but ultimately couldn't as the referee reached the 10-count, declared Becky had defeated Flair. The crowd were absolutely LOVING this, not only for the chaos, but because Becky is just SO incredibly over with the crowd these days that no matter how WWE direct her or push her, the cheers from the crowd are deafening. Becky is still SmackDown Women's Champion at the end of not only the match of the night, but arguably a contender for match of the YEAR...and it's exactly how it should be, she truly IS Relent-Lass. [5/5]

RAW WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP: RONDA ROUSEY def. NIKKI BELLA

There is nothing that, realistically, could ever have topped that last match, but if anyone can keep a crowd pumped, it's the baddest women on the planet; RONDA ROUSEY. The former UFC Champion and legit Olympic medalist has made quite the impact in the WWE since her WrestleMania debut, with an impressive undefeated run, resulting in her very quickly and very impressively getting her hands on the Raw Women's Championship. However if she's the biggest name in women's mixed martial arts, then it's easy to argue that the biggest name in women's professional wrestling over the past several years has to be her opponent tonight; NIKKI BELLA. The former Diva's champion turned reality star was at the top of the mountain as part of a power couple with her real-life partner JOHN CENA, and she (for the exception of Stephanie McMahon of course) ruled the roost. The trouble was the sheer contrast in generations and styles...Nikki claims to have paved the way for the current women's evolution in wrestling, while legit-badass Ronda merely regards her as a fame hungry leech who only got to where she was by sleeping with Cena, and will do anything to get her face in front of a camera, (Talk about a scathing opinion! Christ!) leading us to tonight's main event. Ronda starts off the match naturally confident and easily toying with Nikki, outclassing her by a country mile...but that all changed when Nikki's sister BRIE BELLA started to get involved distracting Ronda. As good as she is, the tactical 2-on-1 approach behind the referee's back eventually got the better of Ronda and for a long period Nikki was on top of this match! Hitting Ronda with an impressive Alabama Slam and scoring a near-fall following her trademark "Rack Attack 2.0" signature, things were looking shaky for the Raw Champ...but resilient as always Ronda managed to claw her way back into the match despite the numbers game, at one point incredibly hoisting up not only Nikki but also Brie onto her shoulders at the same time with a jaw dropping show of strength, for a modified Samoan Drop, before eventually hitting Nikki with an almost botched-looking suplex off of the turnbuckle, holding on for the arm bar. Naturally Nikki tapped out and the crowd popped huge for the ever-smiling Ronda, who, with her Championship still in tact, celebrated with a curtain call at the top of the stage with the rest of the women's roster, in an act of unity, accomplishment and above all pride. These women surpassed every single expectation here tonight and every single one of them deserves the utmost respect for well and truly putting women's wrestling on the map. There's still work to be done, WWE need to start giving more of them decent stories to work with for a start, no more best-friends bullshit...these are competitors and they have just proven to the world that, give them the platform to shine upon and damn will they shine....or...glow in Naomi's case but again, semantics. The whole Saudi Arabia deal casts shade on all of the good that's come out of tonight's show, and sadly will no doubt still be the main talking point, and that's a damn shame, Evolution is step one; the REVOLUTION needs to start here. [3/5]

Then. Now. Forever.

Gav Takes A Break From The Music By Breaking Kayfabe, Offering His Honest Reviews Of WWE + NXT Pay-Per-Views. Falls Count Anywhere, No Disqualifications And No Word Limits...And If You're Not Down With That? He's Got Two Words For Ya'...